Just like the days before, Jake and the others had breakfast together before heading off to school.
However, the atmosphere at the dining table felt a little awkward this time.
"Where did the three of you go yesterday? Why did you come back so late?" asked Sunoo.
"We were looking for Niki, but we couldn't find him," said Heeseung.
"He went to the grave first, then vanished without a trace," asked Jay.
Jake, Sunghoon and Heeseung exchanged glances, but eventually Sunghoon chose to speak.
"P-possibly Niki has followed Jungwon," said Sunghoon quietly.
"What are you on about? Your joke isn't funny," said Sunoo, incredulous.
"Unknown kept bringing up the death of one of our alumni, so yesterday we went to that alumnus's house to look for Niki. We found him belongings there—they'd been burnt," explained Jake.
Jay and Sunoo were, of course, shocked to hear Jake's explanation. Their minds were once again filled with unease.
*****
Jake walked to the school's back garden, where he'd arranged to meet Junghwan.
Jake arrived first and looked around the area, which seemed deserted—there was no one there. Without him realising it, someone was clutching a ball tightly and then threw it towards Jake.
"Hey, get out of the way!"
Luckily, Junghwan arrived and deftly caught the basketball, preventing it from hitting Jake.
"Are you okay?" Junghwan asked Jake, who looked completely taken aback.
"I-I'm fine, thanks," said Jake.
"Right."
Junghwan threw the ball far into the bushes.
"Haven't you found Niki yet?" asked Junghwan.
Jake shook his head. "Not yet; the police still have him listed as missing."
"Hm, I'm really sorry to hear that. I hope he's found soon," said Junghwan.
"Y-yeah. Oh, by the way, I asked you to meet me here to ask you something," said Jake.
"Oh really? What do you want to ask?" asked Junghwan.
"Yesterday you said Niki had a look at that journal. What was in it?" asked Jake.
"It was about Niki and Jungwon's investigation into the death of our alumni, Yang Jeongin. Didn't they tell you?" said Junghwan.
"N-no. I think they wanted to look into this case just the two of them, so they didn't tell anyone else," replied Jake.
"Oh," Junghwan replied briefly.
Jake found it rather odd. Why on earth were Niki and Jungwon investigating that case?
Junghwan's remark snapped Jake out of his reverie.
"Bro, I'm off first. Yoshi's been messaging me non-stop," said Junghwan.
"Ah, right. You go ahead."
Junghwan left Jake, who remained silent in the park, his mind in turmoil.
*****
After school, Jake went to the café where Jungwon had last been seen. He'd tried to get Sunghoon and Heeseung to come along, but they were both busy with work.
Before entering the café, Jake noticed several CCTV cameras there that had been damaged by a lightning strike. He remembered that the video sent by 'Unknown' hadn't actually come from CCTV footage, but had been recorded directly by 'Unknown' using a mobile phone.
"Jake."
Jake turned around when one of the customers greeted him. It was Chris, an alumnus of his school and a friend of Jeongin's.
"Ah, sorry to keep you waiting," said Jake.
"No, it's fine. I happened to be bored anyway, so I fancied hanging out at the café," said Chris.
"Bro, I want to ask you something about the late Jeongin," said Jake.
"What do you want to ask about him?" asked Chris.
"Did Jeongin have any close relatives living in this district too?" asked Jake.
"As far as I know, he had a close relative," replied Chris.
"Do you know who it was?" asked Jake.
"Judging by how often they chatted, it seems they were really close. But Jeongin never revealed the relative's identity. I don't know, maybe he was afraid his relative would be targeted too," said Chris.
"Targeted?" asked Jake.
"Jeongin was keeping a secret—he was often followed by a mysterious person before he was found dead. What's creepy is that Jeongin once told me he knew the person following him was a hitman hired by someone," said Chris.
"O-oh, I see," said Jake.
"Sorry if I've scared you." Chris noticed that Jake looked uncomfortable. He thought Jake might be frightened by what he'd said about someone following Jeongin.
"N-no, it's fine, bro. Sorry, I think I've got to head back now as I've got something to do."
Jake said goodbye to Chris and quickly left the café.
Walking along the street, Jake arrived at a housing estate not far from the café. He looked towards the CCTV camera on one of the houses, then immediately opened his mobile to send a message to Sunghoon.
You
Have you finished your work?
Sunghoon
Yes, why?
You
Hack the CCTV at Kenanga Housing Estate.
Sunghoon
What for?
You
Jungwon was last seen walking back from the café. I suspect he passed through this housing estate. I happened to spot a CCTV camera on one of the houses.
Sunghoon
OK, I'll sort it 👍